Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has accepted two Army-generated recommendations to terminate the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program and to reorganize Army aviation as part of the Fiscal Year 2015 budget expected to be released next week.
If the recommended termination of the Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) becomes reality and is accepted by Congress, engineers at General Dynamics [GD] and BAE Systems are potentially at risk, company officials said.
“We have more than 300 engineers directly working on GCV in Michigan,” said Peter Keating, director of communications at General Dynamics Land Systems.
Mark Signorelli, vice president Combat Vehicle Systems Industrial Operations at BAE, said last week the company has some 350 engineers working on the program and that number would drop significantly, during a panel at the Association of United States Army Winter Symposium, in Huntsville, Ala., on what industry sees as operating in the “new normal.”
These losses would come on top of contraction in the defense supplier base, facilities and employees as troops turn from combat and stability operations in Afghanistan and the defense budget shrinks.
Photo: Boeing
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made official Monday what had been discussed for months, terminating the GCV program that was to replace Bradley fighting vehicles and its operational deficiencies. The program already saw its FY ’14 funding slashed to $100 million from $580 million.
“I have also accepted the Army’s recommendation to terminate the current Ground Combat Vehicle program and re-direct the funds toward developing a next-generation platform,” Hagel said in a Pentagon briefing. “I have asked the leadership of the Army and the Marine Corps to deliver new, realistic visions for vehicle modernization by the end of this year.”
Army Secretary John McHugh said, “Secretary Hagel today provided equal doses of reality and opportunity…”There’s no question this will be a difficult road, and I laud Secretary Hagel for keeping us on the right path.”
In a statement for Defense Daily, BAE said, “We are aware of Secretary Hagel’s announcement regarding the decision to terminate the Ground Combat Vehicle program. BAE Systems is committed to the development of advanced combat vehicle technologies–including the cutting edge technology we developed and matured for the Army during the GCV program–that will meet the needs of the military’s combat vehicle fleet.”
The GCV technology demonstration program ends in June for both General Dynamics and BAE.
“Once we understand more about the details of (Monday’s) announcement and the immediate next steps, we will work with the U.S. Army to preserve the necessary key capabilities and skills until a future combat vehicle program is established,” the BAE statement said.
“We are discussing with the Army how to bridge the engineering talent that will be lost when the GCV technology demonstration contract ends, using their existing funds, from June to the time when the FY 2015 Science and Technology funding is available,” Keating said.
Meanwhile, Army modernization funds are being directed into engineering change proposals (ECP) for M1 Abrams tanks and Stryker vehicles, both produced by General Dynamics, and the Bradley, built by BAE. The ECPs are slated for 2017.
Hagel also recommends Army Guard AH-64 Apache attack helicopters are transferred to active duty units. The active Army will transfer UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to the National Guard, where they will “bolster the Guard’s needed capabilities in areas like disaster relief and emergency response.”
These moves were an Army aviation initiative unveiled in its pre-decisional form in mid-January by the commanding general of the Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker–something rarely done.
Hagel said, “These changes to the Guard’s helicopter fleet are part of a broader realignment of Army aviation designed to modernize its fleet and make it highly capable and more affordable (Defense Daily, Jan. 14).”
The recommendation is to retire the OH-58 Kiowa helicopters and the JetRanger training helicopters used at Ft. Rucker, Ala.
“The active Army’s overall fleet would decrease by about 25 percent, but it would be significantly modernized under the president’s budget plan,” Hagel said.
The rationale for these moves is that “experience shows that specialties requiring greater collective training to achieve combat proficiency and service integration should reside in the full-time force, where these capabilities will be more ready and available to commanders.”
The Guard’s fleet of helicopters would decline by eight percent, but it would gain new Black Hawks and the Army will sustain the Guard’s fleet of Light Utility Helicopters.